Project Summary: The Administrative Core for this Metabolic Basis of Disease (MBD) center will support the mentoring and career development of the research project junior faculty. In addition, the Administrative Core will be responsible for overall leadership and management of the MBD center. The primary effort will be focused on facilitating mentorship and career development of the Research Project faculty as well as coordinating expansion of our scientific infrastructure. This approach will enable us to promote the biomedical research discoveries that advance our understanding of the etiology and underlying causes of metabolic aspects of different disease states. The MBD Center administration will be located on second floor of Basic Science Building where the Project Director and administrative assistant are in very close proximity. In addition, three of Research Projects have laboratory space on this floor. The Center Director (Stephens), Associate Director (Morrison), the Preclinical Core, the Molecular Mechanisms Core, and the Research Project PIs are all housed in this building and this will greatly facilitate communication and day-to-day interactions between all members. The Internal Advisory Committee (IAC) will provide oversight of the goals and mission of the Center (see Overall Research Plan). The IAC consists of seven faculty members who have substantial mentoring experience and expertise in scientific core management and method development. The administrative core will also oversee the coordination of the scientific cores, the Internal and External Advisory Committees, and all other aspects of related to administration of the center.